Problems can occur when an individual's role in society is not properly enacted. An example of this would be if a college professor did something very un-professorlike, such as skip a class or show up unprepared and make up a curriculum for the class period. This would cause serious issues within the class and the Professor's status would be called into question. Some may even question if this person is truly fit for this occupation if they can't be prepared for their lecture. The "Self Label" can interfere with the role, when the individual is attempting to present them self in such a way, but end up contradicting what their role says they should behave like. An example of this can be found in this Family Guy clip, where Dr. Hartman is failing to meet his role. He's attempting to present the "Self Label" that he and Peter are friends and that he legitimately is trying to help out, such as reminding him that his driver's license is going to expire soon.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Blog 9: Self Label and Role
One of the interesting topics we covered this week in class was Irving Goffman's work on Status, Role, and the "Self Label". Status refers to an individual's social position in society, which can include things such as their occupation, marriage status, or parental status. Role is the behavior that is expected of an individual based on their status. An example of this would be how there are certain ways a father is supposed to act as opposed to a bachelor. As for "Self Label", Goffman described this as an identity that an individual shows other people to try to manage their impression of him or her. An example of this would be someone acting very knowledgeable in front of a group of people in order to make them believe he has high intelligence. However, sometimes these tend to clash with one another to cause problems in society.
Problems can occur when an individual's role in society is not properly enacted. An example of this would be if a college professor did something very un-professorlike, such as skip a class or show up unprepared and make up a curriculum for the class period. This would cause serious issues within the class and the Professor's status would be called into question. Some may even question if this person is truly fit for this occupation if they can't be prepared for their lecture. The "Self Label" can interfere with the role, when the individual is attempting to present them self in such a way, but end up contradicting what their role says they should behave like. An example of this can be found in this Family Guy clip, where Dr. Hartman is failing to meet his role. He's attempting to present the "Self Label" that he and Peter are friends and that he legitimately is trying to help out, such as reminding him that his driver's license is going to expire soon.
Problems can occur when an individual's role in society is not properly enacted. An example of this would be if a college professor did something very un-professorlike, such as skip a class or show up unprepared and make up a curriculum for the class period. This would cause serious issues within the class and the Professor's status would be called into question. Some may even question if this person is truly fit for this occupation if they can't be prepared for their lecture. The "Self Label" can interfere with the role, when the individual is attempting to present them self in such a way, but end up contradicting what their role says they should behave like. An example of this can be found in this Family Guy clip, where Dr. Hartman is failing to meet his role. He's attempting to present the "Self Label" that he and Peter are friends and that he legitimately is trying to help out, such as reminding him that his driver's license is going to expire soon.
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I think even if a professor wasn't prepared or did something that a professor shouldn't do, I still think that people would question who he was as a person not necessarily a professor because they did go to grad school and they know their field. Could be a character flaw. I loved the family guy clip. Dr. Hartman is something else :).
ReplyDeleteThe Self Role within society is all around us. I like how you were able to give an example of the college professor, because of the fact that we as college students can relate. That makes understanding a concept quite simple, when put into context that all individuals understand. The media in which you chose also was a plus when reading your blog. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteGood family guy clip. I enjoyed how both tied into each other. I think that if a professor didn't show up to class that the students would not be too worried, and would just assume something came up. Wouldn't necessarily alter their view of him though.
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